THE FISHES OF ARKANSAS. 
69 
The White Eiver rises in the iiorth-westeru part of Arkansas, flows northeasterly 
for a short clistaiice through Missouri, ami thence southeasterly, emptying into the 
Arkansas Eiver near its mouth. Its basin is the largest in Arkansas, and com])rises 
the greater part of tlie State north of the Arkansas Eiver, including most of the Ozark 
Mountain region north of that river, which is, in some places, very nigged. The upper 
portion of this basin is chiefly covered with the cherty limestone already mentioned, in 
which are many caves and from which flow many large and beautiful springs. The 
upper two-thirds are covered with a heavy growth of timber, such as oak, pine, and 
cedar, which becomes still lieavier in the lowlands, the most abundant varieties there 
being oak, jmllow pine, poplar, ash, etc. The main river is navigable for small steam- 
boats as far as Buffalo City, a distance of 200 miles from its mouth, except during 
periods of very dry weather. It has a moderately rapid current, and a rocky or sandy 
bottom; but from Newport toward the mouth the bottom consists of sand and mud, and 
the current becomes more sluggish. It is one of the-clearest and most beautiful streams 
in the Mississippi Valley. 
The more important tributaries of the White Eiver are the War Eagle, Kings, 
Buffalo, and Little Eed rivers, on the south, and the North Fork and Black rivers, 
on the north, within the boundaries of the State. At least half of the investigation 
with respect to the Ashes of Arkansas has been done in this basin. 
The Arkansas is the largest river in the State. Its waters resemble those of the 
Platte and Missouri, holding in suspension much sand and silt, which give it a muddy 
appearance, while the fishes taken from it have the i^ale, sickly look, characteristic of 
the fishes of those rivers. The few tributaries it receives from the salt region of 
southern Kansas make its waters slightly saline. The basin of the Arkansas extends 
entirely across the State in a general northwest and southeast direction ; at the west 
it is half as wide as the State, but it narrows eastward until its width is reduced to 
scarcely more than 10 miles. It lies mostly in a sandstone district. The important 
tributaries within the State are all mountain streams, resembling those of the uiiiaer 
White and Ouachita rivers. 
The Bayou Bartholomew drains a small portion of the State south of the mouth 
of the Arkansas Eiver, the area included within its basin being low rolling or flat. 
No collections have ever been made in this region. 
The Ouachita Eiver, witli its tributaries, drains most of the mountain region 
south of the Arkansas Eiver, and thence flows through the rolling and low lands of 
the southeastern part of the State, passing into Louisiana. It resembles the AVhite 
Eiver, but drains less of the upland and more of the lowland. The fish fauna of this 
river and of the White is very similar to that of the upper Tennessee Eiver. Some 
collections have been made in the upper tributaries of the Ouachita and in the river 
itself. 
The Eed Eiver drains oidy a small j)art of southwestern Arkansas, a low, gently 
I'olling region. It bears va close resemblance to the Arkansas Eiver, its waters being' 
nearly always turbid from the fine silt brought down from the upper part of its 
basin. The only collection of fishes from tliis basin was obtained at Fulton, in 1884, 
by Dr. David S. Jordan and Prof. Charles n. Gilbert. 
The extent of the territory drained by each of these river systems is as follows: 
White Eiver, 17,470 square miles; Arkansas Eiver, 12, .300 square miles; Ouachita 
